Downtown police stations seen as catalysts in 2 cities

Sunday

Oct 14, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 14, 2012 at 2:01 PM

In about three weeks, Norwich officials will ask taxpayers to approve a $33.4 million bond to finance the construction of a Franklin Square police station. Mayor Peter Nystrom, Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Sr. and the City Council have all endorsed the plan, hailing it as a backbone for future downtown development. It’s a sales pitch that is not unique to the Rose City.

Adam Benson

In about three weeks, Norwich officials will ask taxpayers to approve a $33.4 million bond to finance the construction of a Franklin Square police station. Mayor Peter Nystrom, Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Sr. and the City Council have all endorsed the plan, hailing it as a backbone for future downtown development.

It’s a sales pitch that is not unique to the Rose City.

Civic, political and business leaders in Middletown and New Britain have seen police stations move downtown and say the results have been tangible.

Middletown has had its police station on Main Street since 1998, while New Britain’s new police station is scheduled to open this year.

“Having the police station downtown was a pivotal strategic decision in the revitalization of our downtown, and one of the key factors in our success,” said Quentin Phipps, executive director of the Middletown Downtown Business District. “It was clearly a catalyst for our growth, and it has 100 percent paid off and worked.”

Rick Kearney, Middletown’s economic development specialist, said officials have no data to quantify how significant the station has been to commercial growth, but it is among three “anchor” sites that have contributed to the city’s success. The city also has Wesleyan University close to downtown.

“The station was very important, because it took up a large amount of space. A sense of activity breeds activity, and then it spreads,” Kearney said. A 12-screen movie theater and the 100-room Inn at Middletown have all contributed greatly to the city’s economic turnaround, Kearney said.

“Part of the planning of this was to bring the building right up to the edge of the sidewalk, creating what we all remember what a downtown was like,” Kearney said. “The Main Street model is important, because it gets a lot of people talking to each other.”

Like Norwich, Middletown officials sought to convert an old Sears department store into a hub for its police force, not only bringing it into the heart of the city, but allowing the building to be used by the public.

In December 1996, the city used eminent domain to acquire the vacant property, and voters approved a $9.96 million bond to construct a 47,000-square-foot site that included 7,200 square feet of retail space. The First & Last Tavern is located there.

William Warner, Middletown’s director of planning, conservation and development, said attributing the city’s resurgence to a single facility would be inaccurate, but several designs for the police station were rejected because they weren’t in line with zoning requirements.

“We spent a lot of extra money on a very good design. We had a whole downtown plan that called for a police station with retail in the front,” Warner said. “We showed we were going to make the investment.”

In fact, the results have been so successful that officials in New Britain looked at its Route 9 neighbor for guidance when creating plans for their own station.

“I think we did see them as a model for us,” said Mark Fortin, who has been chairman of New Britain’s police station building committee since its inception in March 2010.

That city’s 136-member force is expected to move into a five-story, $35 million complex in about a month, Fortin said. By 2013, two retail tenants will be up and running inside the building.

Like Norwich, New Britain included a community room in its plans.

“The real debate and controversy was over the location and aesthetics of it,” said Phil Sherwood, a former New Britain alderman and deputy chief of staff to Mayor Tim O’Brien. “But most of the critics’ concerns were alleviated when they decided to make a good portion of the first floor retail.”

In Norwich, mixed use isn’t part of the police station plan, but proponents say the 57,000-square-foot complex will have a life span of at least 50 years and allow the department to expand without constraint.

City leaders are also confident a new $5 million, 210-space parking garage — with 75 spots set aside for the public — will spur new business opportunities in the area.

But “you have to all the things combined. The right plan, the right momentum,” Warner said. “We had a whole downtown plan that called for a police station with retail in the front.”

Bernie Lippman, who runs Labor Ready on Main Street in Norwich, said Middletown and New Britain have much larger downtowns, meaning Norwich’s concentrated radius could see a much stronger bounce from a centrally located police station in a shorter time.

“I can very comfortably say that having a police station down here would bring people back and ensure weekends wouldn’t be so desolate,” he said. “I don’t think it would bring the city back to the 1940s, but it would help.”

Bob Mills, Norwich Community Development Corporation’s executive director, said there are other differences between the Middletown and New Brtiain projects compared to Norwich.

“New Britain and Middletown are much closer to the same, with wide avenues and plenty of room. The fit and feel are different in all three of the communities,” he said. “Norwich is trying to keep the cost down by using an existing, well-built facility.

New Britain’s Fortin said the best thing city leaders can do in the run-up to Nov. 6 is keep open all lines of communication with the public.

“My advice to Norwich would be, involve the public in the planning, and be open about the cost. Having an informed public and being honest is the best way to gain acceptance,” he said.